Avalanche selects forward Gabriel Landeskog with No. 2 pick in NHL draft

ST. PAUL, MINN. — The Avalanche tonight chose left wing Gabriel Landeskog with the No. 2 pick in the NHL draft.

A rugged, 6-foot-1, 207-pound left wing who played for the Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario Hockey League, Landeskog is considered a blue-chip power forward prospect.

The native of Stockholm, Sweden, is considered one of the most "NHL-ready" players in the draft, with a body more filled out than most 18-year-olds.

"I'm just so excited," Landeskog said. "So excited to go to a team that had my idol, Peter Forsberg, and also guys like Joe Sakic and Patrick Roy."

Sakic, the Avs' executive adviser, was on the podium here to hand Landeskog his new jersey.

With the 11th overall pick in the

Post Poll - Avs' Draft Pick

The Avalanche chose left wing Gabriel Landeskog with the No. 2 pick in the NHL draft. He's a rugged, 6-foot-1, 207-pound left wing who played for the Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario Hockey League. How would you rate the Avs selection?

Great choice. He'll contribute right away and help lead Colorado back to the playoffs. Makes no sense. Avs need help on defense and in goal. We'll have to wait and see, but if he's half as good as a previous Swedish Avalanche player (Peter Forsberg) I'll be satisfied.

first round, the Avs selected 6-foot-3, 197-pound defenseman Duncan Siemens of Saskatoon of the Western Hockey League. Siemens was a teammate of Avs defensive up-and-comer Stefan Elliott, and plays a rugged, physical game.

Landeskog, a personable, likable captain of his junior team is expected to compete right away for a top-6 forward spot with the Avs this coming season.

"My goal is to make the National Hockey League next season," he said. "I'm going to work as hard as I possibly can to make that happen."

Landeskog scored 36 goals and 66 points for Kitchener last season, and was the first European captain of the Rangers in their history.

"I kind of had a little feeling that Colorado might be interested in me during the interviews. I came away with a good feeling, and I think they did too. That was a meeting that was highlighted on my schedule, but at the same time I tried not to get too excited and ahead of myself. When it came time for the No. 2 pick to be called, my heart started beating harder and the palms got sweatier."

Landeskog seems more emotionally mature than your typical teenager too.

"He's a physical player in terms of confrontation," Avalanche chief scout Rick Pracey said

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of Landeskog on Thursday. "He initiates the contact, but he's also a player who plays the full length of the ice. He's diligent. There's lots to like here in terms of his overall package."

Despite growing up in Stockholm, he speaks perfect English and has no traces of a Swedish accent. He sounds Canadian actually, and scouts say his game is more North American than your usual European. Landeskog decided to play junior in Canada and learned English mostly from watching TV there.

Landeskog likes to crash and bang in the corners and around the net, but he has skill too. As captain of the Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario Hockey League, he scored 36 goals and 66 points in 53 games.

Forsberg was Landeskog's favorite player as a kid.

"He was my guy, just the way he could dominate the game physically, but also with his skill," Landeskog said.

Of the possibility of joining the Avalanche, Landeskog said Thursday, "I've only heard great things about Denver and Colorado, and obviously they've got a great future there. I had a pretty good feeling walking out of there (after meeting with Avs scouts), and I had an extra long chat with them afterwards. I think they showed a little bit of interest."

Said NHL Central Scouting's Peter Sullivan: "Gabriel does remind me of former Kitchener Ranger Mike Richards. He sticks up for his teammates and is as strong at both ends of the rink as any player in the draft this year. He competes as hard if not harder than anybody. He's got all the assets that you need to be a team leader and, for a potential No. 1 overall, that's what you would want."

Edmonton selected Red Deer center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins with the first pick.

Siemens, the Avs' pick at No. 11, is known as a two-way defender. He has a solid build and is a physical defenseman.

Hockey Canada's head scout Al Murray toldhockeywilderness.comthat Siemens is "a big, punishing defenseman who can really skate."

Checkdenverpost.comfor more updates.

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